As last year, so this year. Here is my second annual installment of the Top 10 Pagan Quotes of the year.

This was a year of standing up in the face of threat. The sources of threat varied from political institutions to international corporations to everyday people from mainstream faiths who were scared off by words like “Pagan” and “Witch.”

All too often the threat came from within our own community. That’s not necessarily bad. These kinds of discussions and disagreements, when handled productively and respectfully, can challenge beliefs that have solidified into dogma and propel the community forward, helping us learn and grow with the times.

And sometimes the threat was Charlie Sheen.

The speakers and writers of each quote must be Pagans. This means that quotes said by mainstream news sources about Pagans do not qualify, and as much as I would have loved to include Stephanie Edwards’ instant classic from January 1, “I’m going to apply nuts to my face this year,” it also does not qualify. In some cases, quotes have been edited for punctuation, grammar, or clarity. You can link to each one to find its original source.

If you have any favorite quotes that I missed, please feel free to include them in the comments. So here we go:

10. “In fact, ‘Wicca’ seemed to be turning into some sort of derisive joke, with ‘Ronald Hutton’ as the punch line.” – Ben Whitmore, February 8

9. “I looked at the toys in my hands and I saw the result of millions of dollars of development and thousands of hours of manpower, put into something bearing the name of a god, my god, and it had nothing to do with me.” – Eric Scott, April 11

8. “By making me a personal target, I’ve been inundated with wonderful, loving, supportive energy from dozens and dozens of people. I won’t waste my time being mad or hating them. Because in my personal faith, I forgive, I accept, and I am tolerant. (or at least I really, really try to be).” – Mrs. B., May 27

7. “At its essence, the message of the Occupations is simply this: ‘Here in the face of power we will sit and create a new society, in which you do count.’” – Starhawk, October 20

6. “But if you claim to be one of us, you have to have sometimes in your life a womb, and ovaries and MOON bleed and not die. Women are born not made by men on operating tables.” – Z. Budapest, February 28

5. “A tinfoil hat might protect [Charlie Sheen] from aliens, but it won’t do anything to protect him from witches.” – Christian Day, March 4

4. “This is very important for us; we didn’t have a place to call our own, to be outside in nature,” – Cadet Nicole Johnson, May 3

3. “I don’t like being tolerated by priestesses. It’s demeaning. It is absolutely arrogant to look down on me and assume that your path is in any way more valid or deeper than mine or other men who work with Goddess.” – Devin Hunter, December 19

2. “This decision shows how important our faith is. We are getting credence from a secular government about our belief structure – which not only shows it is valuable but also valued by us and others.” – King Arthur Pendragon, October 2

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